Using Pb isotopes in surface media to distinguish anthropogenic sources from undercover uranium sources

Kyser, Kurt; Lahusen, Larry; Drever, G; Dunn, C E; Leduc, Evelyne; Chipley, Don

doi:10.1016/j.crte.2015.06.003

Cited by 24 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Later, Pb isotopes were used for U-mining environmental impact assessment studies. − Mining and milling activities have led to the dissemination of radioactive-enriched material containing radiogenic Pb in the environment. The Pb isotope signature of the U-ore can be detected over long distances from the U-mine even after significant mixing with the natural Pb due to the high isotopic contrast between the sources (natural versus U-ore) and to the high radiogenic Pb content of the transported material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights into Pb Isotope Fingerprinting of U-Mine Material Dissemination in the Environment: Pb Isotopes as a Memory Dissemination Tracer

Gourgiotis

Mangeret

Manhès

et al. 2019

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights into Pb Isotope Fingerprinting of U-Mine Material Dissemination in the Environment: Pb Isotopes as a Memory Dissemination Tracer

Gourgiotis

Mangeret

Manhès

et al. 2019

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…In addition, ore deposit styles are characterized by unique clusters of elements and therefore, element associations revealed from geochemical indices may point to the metal sources and nature of mineralizing fluids [52,72]. In environmental geochemical surveys, geochemical indices include the geo-accumulation index (I geo ) and contamination factors (CFs) and these focus on elevated metal concentrations from anthropogenic sources [120].…”

Section: Metallophytes In the Central African Copperbeltmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemistry of Terrestrial Plants in the Central African Copperbelt: Implications for Sediment Hosted Copper-Cobalt Exploration

Mukube,

Hitzman,

Machogo-Phao

et al. 2024

Minerals

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Mineral exploration has increasingly targeted areas covered by in situ or transported overburden for shallow to deep-seated orebodies. It remains critical to develop better means to detect the surficial chemical footprint of mineralized areas covered by thick regolith. In such settings, plant geochemistry could potentially be a useful exploration tool, as different plant species have varying degrees of tolerance to metal enrichment in the soil. This review provides insights into the geological and geochemical controls on metal accumulation patterns in soil–plant systems of the Central African Copperbelt. In addition, it highlights the opportunities for integrating the geochemistry of terrestrial plants in emerging exploration technologies, identifies research gaps, and suggests future directions for developing phytogeochemical sampling techniques. This review was conducted using reputable online scholarly databases targeting original research articles published between January 2005 and March 2023, from which selected articles were identified, screened, and used to explore current advances, opportunities, and future directions for the use of plant geochemistry in sediment hosted Cu–Co exploration in the Central African Copperbelt. Various plant species are recognized as ore deposit indicators through either independent phytogeochemistry or complementary approaches. In the Central African Copperbelt, the successful application of hyperaccumulator species for phytoremediation provides the basis for adopting phytogeochemistry in mineral exploration. Furthermore, current advances in remote sensing, machine learning, and deep learning techniques could enable multi-source data integration and allow for the integration of phytogeochemistry.

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“…Similarly, defined ranges on the 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ratio diagrams (Figures 9-11) are 'barren', 'weakly anomalous', 'moderately anomalous', 'strongly anomalous', and 'highly anomalous/mineralized' with ranges of >0.75, 0.75 to 0.6, 0.6 to 0.4, 0.4 to 0.2, and <0.2, respectively [4]. The 'barren' range reflects non-radiogenic ratio values typically encountered in U exploration, while the other ranges reflect primary and secondary dispersion of radiogenic Pb (e.g., [5]). , through values considered to be anomalous (30-100, orange), to those values considered to be highly anomalous, such as found in mineralization (>100, pink).…”

Section: Pb-isotope Pathfinder Pad and Wal Geochemistry: Bong And Endmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The goal of this study is to evaluate the utility of Pb-isotope dispersion, specifically Pb-isotope pathfinder geochemistry, in exploration for basement-hosted unconformity-related U deposits [1][2][3]. This geochemical method is based on the fact that Pb is the natural end product of the decay of U, the target element of the exploration, and that several radiogenic Pb-isotopes can be used to identify the presence of nearby U mineralization as a result of dispersion of radiogenic Pb into the environment around the mineralization [4,5]. The study has two objectives, the first concerning Figure 1.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead Isotopes in Exploration for Basement-Hosted Structurally Controlled Unconformity-Related Uranium Deposits: Kiggavik Project (Nunavut, Canada)

Quirt

Benedicto

2020

Minerals

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Pb-isotopes have been proposed as pathfinders for sandstone-hosted unconformity-related U deposits, with isotope ratios providing information on mineralization timing and element remobilization and migration. Pb-isotopes proximal to mineralization display radiogenic signatures, often with ‘excess Pb’ suggestive of derivation from greater U concentrations than are currently present. The U deposits in the Kiggavik project area (west of Baker Lake, NU, Canada) are basement-hosted, contain several generations of pitchblende mineralization, display a strong structural control, and are located in fault-related fracture systems and foliation-parallel veinlets. Drill core samples were analysed by Inductively-Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) for Pb isotopes following multi-acid total-digestion, reverse Aqua Regia partial-digestion, and weak-acid-leach attacks, to evaluate the utility of the respective dissolution methods in Pb-isotope pathfinder geochemistry. Partial-digestion results are similar to weak-acid-leach results, indicating that interpretation of Pb-isotope signatures can be carried out from partial-digestion data if weak-acid-leach data are unavailable. Application of this pathfinder method at Kiggavik shows that Pb-isotope ratios display systematic trends useful for exploration vectoring. Uranium-content-adjusted 206Pb/204Pb ratios and 206Pb/204Pb ‘excess-lead’ data highlight anomalous isotopic values. 207Pb/206Pb ratios display downhole trends complementary to location of mineralization. Three-dimensional (3D) distributions of Pb-isotope data at the Contact U prospect show systematic trends and form halos around the mineralization. Isotopic footprints are limited to <50 m from the mineralization outline, reflecting host-rock and structural control, but indicate areas with elevated potential for U mineralization and provide vectoring information within basement lithologies.

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Using Pb isotopes in surface media to distinguish anthropogenic sources from undercover uranium sources

Cited by 24 publications

References 48 publications

New Insights into Pb Isotope Fingerprinting of U-Mine Material Dissemination in the Environment: Pb Isotopes as a Memory Dissemination Tracer

New Insights into Pb Isotope Fingerprinting of U-Mine Material Dissemination in the Environment: Pb Isotopes as a Memory Dissemination Tracer

Geochemistry of Terrestrial Plants in the Central African Copperbelt: Implications for Sediment Hosted Copper-Cobalt Exploration

Lead Isotopes in Exploration for Basement-Hosted Structurally Controlled Unconformity-Related Uranium Deposits: Kiggavik Project (Nunavut, Canada)

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